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I have entered the world of blogging! My purpose? To stay connected to friends and family and invite you into my world. A world filled with fun, tears, laughter, excitement, elation, disappointment and all the blessings of being a mother and wife.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Handmade Gift Ideas and Matchboxes #10 and #11

All this week is Holly Bloggy Christmas! Each day is a fun blog party on a Christmas related topic. I participated last year and it was SO much fun! You can visit Simple Sweet Home for the list of bloggy parties.

Today's party is about handmade gifts, hosted by Tater Tots and Jello. I wanted to share a couple gifts I made for friends this year. Monogrammed lavender scented sachet pillows and a lavender scented eye pillow. They were very simple AND fun to make.

To make the sachet pillows I used my friend Heidi's Big Shot and punched out six squares with a scallop edge out of muslin. I then hand stamped the flowers and initials using Staz On Jet Black Ink (it works well on many different surfaces). Once the ink was dry (just a few minutes) I machine stitched two squares together leaving a small opening to stuff the pillow and add the lavender. Once the pillow was full, I machine stitched the opening closed. And there you have it! Only took about 30 minutes to complete.

For the lavender eye below, I cut two pieces of material approx. 4" x 8". I stamped my images the same way as the sachet pillows and machine stitched the rectangle closed leaving a small opening. I then filled the pillow approx. half full with rice and added the lavender. I finished off the pillow by machine stitching it closed. The pillow can be put in the microwave to heat, about 20 seconds. If you wanted a finished edge, you can sew the the rectangles together (with the stamp images on the inside), turn right side out, fill and then hand or machine stitch the opening closed.

I made these little chocolate kissed filled jars for the girls' ballet teachers. I wanted to give them a little something but more than a plastic bag filled with chocolate. Then I remembered that I have some empty baby food jars (great things to keep, I have all my little embellishments in them). Using my scallop punch, I punched out three scallops (one for each jar) out of Christmas paper, added a circle Christmas sticker, some glitter around the edges and then used a glue dot to adhere it to the lid. I added a piece of thin red ribbon around the rim of the lid. *Use a small glue dot to hold the ribbon in place while you tie it because the ribbon likes to slip! Lastly I filled the jar with red, green and silver chocolate kisses. A simple, affordable gift.

Matchbox #10 comes from Amy at Paper Trails Leaver. Amy covered the matchbox in paper and embellished it with fun Christmas stickers. I love the RED bling she added to the Christmas tree! Hidden inside was a tag/ornament with a scrabble piece that reads "JOY". A reminder I often need! :-)

Matchbox #11 was created by Angela from Down to the Darling Details. Angela used a vintage image and then outlined it in silver glitter (ohh!!). Inside was a bottle cap magnet. I just love them and want to make them now!

About Me

I am a Christian, wife, mother, addicted scrapbooker, idealist homemaker and a child & family therapist. I have been married to my high school sweetheart, Jeremy, for 14 years. We have two beautiful daughters, Grace twelve and Jilian six. I LOVE being a mother and wife, although, at times it can be down right frustrating, I wouldn't change it for anything. As long as I get an occasional break and some coffee, I seem to manage just fine.